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kolymaarasto's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
kai3cll's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
"The Coffee House of Surat" was on top of my TBR Tolstoy because it is situated in my hometown. However, to my disappoint the story had little to do with the place and more with religion.
Albeit it did got a detail right that India is one of the most popular places to discuss religions and Surat was a port for Dutch traders during colonization, which means many people of various faiths did gathered in streets of the city.
As for the short story, Tolstoy discusses various faiths and people's innate wish of ownership, let it be of land or God. He also adds his beliefs (leaning towards Agnosticism) by the analogy of The Sun (it is present everywhere and nobody owns it.) He further uses the analogy of a blind man with strong disbelief in Sun's existence to describe Atheism.
It is a hefty topic to add into a few pages but Tolstoy manages to do it, in a form that is easy to grasp for many people. I particularly liked his take on ownership which is applicable to many political, religious, corporate and more trends.
Albeit it did got a detail right that India is one of the most popular places to discuss religions and Surat was a port for Dutch traders during colonization, which means many people of various faiths did gathered in streets of the city.
As for the short story, Tolstoy discusses various faiths and people's innate wish of ownership, let it be of land or God. He also adds his beliefs (leaning towards Agnosticism) by the analogy of The Sun (it is present everywhere and nobody owns it.) He further uses the analogy of a blind man with strong disbelief in Sun's existence to describe Atheism.
It is a hefty topic to add into a few pages but Tolstoy manages to do it, in a form that is easy to grasp for many people. I particularly liked his take on ownership which is applicable to many political, religious, corporate and more trends.
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